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Falcons Rout St. Andrews 72-40
Posted by Donald Wilkerson at Dec 29, 2004 4:00PM PST
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Falcons Rout St. Andrews 72-40
Every once in awhile you need a game like Chavez, or South Houston, or even Pasadena Memorial to boost your morale. Such was the meeting between the Falcons and the St. Andrews Saints from Ridgeland Mississippi in the second round of the Poplar Bluff Showdown. Minus their big man who was recruited by another team and abruptly left the team after the start of the season, the fledging St. Andrews squad was composed of only two seniors and a “mass” of underclassmen.
The outcome of the match was determined in the opening minutes when Clear Lake came out strong with an early lead which grew and grew. With 4:52 left in the first quarter the score was 19-2 when Armie Lewis fed Kendrell Thompson for a basket. The rout was apparent early. With 1:15 remaining the score was 25-5. The quarter ended at 28-9. The team was relaxed and confident and played well. A night’s rest can make a big difference.
The second quarter was similar. Two minutes into the quarter it was 35-11. Then it was 41-11 with three minutes remaining in the half. The half ended at 48-17 when Kendrell hits a three on a feed from Armie. The foul count was 4 and 12. The 12 was Clear Lake. At the end of three it was 64-26 and the final was 72-40 due to a benevolent Falcon squad that called off the dogs very soon in the game.
The reserves were summoned early. Everyone got to play and score with the exception of Jordan Villarreal who was experiencing a bout of illness and Brandon Wynn who is still nursing an injured ankle. Jimmy Witten played in his first varsity game. The Falcons appear to be among the best three or four teams in the eight team shootout despite their poor performance in the first game.
The Falcons meet the Memphis East Mustangs in the Consolation final at 5:30, December 30. It should be a good game between two well matched teams. Let’s hope the Falcons get a good night’s rest and are as composed as they were today.
On a side note, Gordon Abner took second in the slam dunk contest held Wednesday. The winner of the slamdunk was, of course, Tyler Hansbrough*. It is significant to note that Gordon did beat out Ben Hansbrough in the slam dunk contest on his home turf.
Scoring by Quarter:
28-20-16-12 Us
09-08-09-14 Them
Scoring for the Falcons:
Gordon Abner 13, Justin Kurtz 11, Scott Oswald 10, Armie Lewis 10, David Pearce 7, Mark Murphy 6, Kendrell Thompson 6, Lee Mazurek 5, Andy Leveque 2, Jimmy Witten 2.
2’s:20 of 38 (53%)
3’s: 8 of 20 (40%)
Free throws: 8 of 9 (89%)
*Local orthopedic M.D. Eugene Hansbrough has three sons who are athletes. Tyler, the middle son, is the 6’9” big man for the Poplar Bluff Mules. Tyler is ranked from first to fifth among the nation’s big seniors and, if you see him play, you know why. Tyler has signed a letter of intent with North Carolina. Ben, a 6’4”junior, is the starting point guard for the Mules. The oldest son, also a gifted athlete, has been operated on for a brain tumor which has left him partially paralyzed on one side. Despite medical experts claiming he would never walk again, he recently ran in a marathon!!
Falcons Lose in First Round of Poplar Bluff Showdown
Posted by Donald Wilkerson at Dec 28, 2004 4:00PM PST
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Falcons Lose 70-63 in First Round of Poplar Bluff Showdown
Clear Lake met a smaller, slightly quicker team when they came up against the Austin East team from Knoxville, Tennessee in the first round of the Poplar Bluff Showdown tournament on December 28, 2004. Determinants in winning a first round game in an out-of-town tournament include:
1.matchup- how strong a team are you matched up against. Often the stronger teams are matched up against much weaker teams to make the play more equitable after the first round.
2.How tired a team is when they walk on the court.
3.Which team shows up to play.
The matchup was favorable. Lake was a noticeably more talented, more well rounded team. Clear Lake played hard but appeared tired from almost the outset against the 10-2 Roadrunners. No wonder. In addition to the holiday travel for some which left them weary, when your team must get up and to the school by 5 a.m. to go to the airport, hang around at the airport for almost 2 hours, fly to St. Louis, rent a van and drive three hours to Poplar Bluff before playing an 8:30 p.m. game which doesn’t start until almost 9 p.m., you might as well spot the other team at least 15 points. (All but one of the other teams in the eight team tournament are within a three hour drive and should be less fatigued. In the eighteen year history of the tourney, Clear Lake is the team to come the second farthest distance to play in the eight team tournament).
Suffice it to say, the Falcons worked hard but their bodies could not overcome fatigue caused by a very long day. Despite a valiant effort, a third quarter where their opponents outscored them by 14 points made the difference. The Falcons had too many trips down the court without scoring and allowed too many offensive rebounds in the contest.
In addition, officiating in this part of Missouri is noticeably different from what the Falcons are accustomed to. Much more tightly called games and many more basic rule infractions (like traveling) called. One official called traveling on the Falcons three times in one quarter and multiple reviews of the game tape have still not revealed which game he was watching. Overall, the officiating was acceptable though. Officiating was not the reason for the Falcon loss despite what may have appeared as a few too many questionable calls.
It was a close first quarter with the Falcons behind by two, 16 to 14 despite going 0 for 5 from three point range. In the second quarter Lake hung in and outscored the Roadrunnners 22 to 11 to bring the score to 36-27 in favor of the Falcons. 5 of 13 shooting from two point range did not help but lots of hustle made the difference. The third quarter was the difference in the ball game though. As their team name implies, the Roadrunners are not accustomed to being out hustled as they had been in the first half, a fact that their coach surely emphasized in the locker room at halftime. With a spark of life probably stimulated by some unpleasant observations by their coach, the Austin East squad out worked and out jumped the Falcons all over the court in the third and fourth quarters. Lake was beat in the fore court and the backcourt when they weren’t beating themselves (21 turnovers). The third quarter closed with the Roadrunners up 54-49. Still anybody’s game.
In the fourth it was a very close contest with Lake trailing by three in the first four minutes of the quarter. At midpoint in the quarter, the Roadrunners widened the gap to 7 and then 9 and maintained it at 6 or 7 points for the duration.
Despite all of this, the Falcons really did not look as bad as they have in a few past games this season. They did have trouble with the constant pressure on the ball applied by the scurrying Roadrunners though. A guess at the game shooting percentage from the field for the Austin East team would come in around 80%. Assuming the Falcons get some rest instead of engaging in some late night card playing marathons as they have been known to do in past year out-of-town tournaments, Lake should take the Consolation crown by playing nearer to their potential. But the teenage mind being what it is and the tendency to blow it off after an initial loss could just as easily deliver another loss or two to the youthful Falcons.
The Falcons face the 5 and 10 St. Andrews Saints from Ridgeland, Mississippi in the next round.
Scoring by quarter:
14-22-13-14 US
16-11-27-16 Them
Scoring for the Falcons:
Gordon Abner 22, Scott Oswald 12, Kendrell Thompson 8, Armie Lewis 7, Mark Murphy 6, Andy Leveque 4, Lee Mazurek 2, Justin Kurtz 2
2’s: 22 of 44 (50%)
3’s: 3 of 14 (21%)
Free throws: 10 of 13 (77%)
Website Update Schedule - timeliness of game information
Posted by Donald Wilkerson at Dec 22, 2004 4:00PM PST
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Time permitting, the result of the most recent Clear Lake Varsity game and an article offering a summary description of the game along with some basic game stats will usually be provided by sunrise the day after the game or by noon at the latest. Out of town games may be later (especially Brazoswood). Game (team and individual player) stats will be provided as well but often will lag a few days after the game.
Tournament game times and locations will be posted as early as possible.
Click on Schedules and Scores to find the time and place of the next game or scroll to the bottom of the Home Page.
Tournament game times and locations will be posted as early as possible.
Click on Schedules and Scores to find the time and place of the next game or scroll to the bottom of the Home Page.
Clear Lake Trumps Pasadena Memorial 72-52
Posted by Donald Wilkerson at Dec 20, 2004 4:00PM PST
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Against a team of all juniors and one sophomore, the Clear Lake Falcons had their way with the Pasadena Memorial Mavericks on Tuesday, December 21, 2004. There was little doubt about the result of the contest as the Falcons out-shot, out-hustled and out-classed the youthful Pasadena squad (the Pasadena school will graduate its first class next year).
After starting out with a 16 to 4 lead early in the quarter, Clear Lake dominated the quarter. With the first quarter drawing to a close, all star quarterback, now converted Falcon guard, Scott Oswald, hit a trey from the right corner to bring the quarter to a close with Lake leading 22-12. Scotty, it is good to have you back. We have missed you (Oswald scored 15 points).
In the second quarter, Lake continued to maintain their lead with superlative play. Halfway through the quarter, Armie Lewis came down with a rebound, dribbled four times and passed the ball down the court to Gordon Abner, who was waiting under the basket to stuff it in. This brought the score to 29-19 in Lake’s favor. The half finished with Lake ahead 37-24.
The third quarter was highlighted by impressive defensive play by the Falcons. Great hustle, focused and intense, combined with good anticipation to lead to many steals by the Falcons. At 5:42 remaining in the quarter, a steal led to a textbook 3 on 1 fast break with Gordon, Andy and Kendrell. This brought the score to 42-22. It was all down hill from there. The Falcons then confirmed they could win by a large margin but they were merciful toward the Mavericks. The third quarter closed at 59-36.
The fourth quarter was more of the same. The Falcons would increase their lead to 23 points before the Mavs would chip away at it. The final score was 72-52.
Other than a few too many turnovers by Lake considering the difference in the talent between the two teams, Lake look very good today against a team they dominated. Among the offensive strengths displayed by the Falcons were strong rebounding, good court awareness, well executed plays, noticeably excellent teamwork, repeatedly unselfish play, and active, energetic ball movement most of the time. Five different Falcons hit 3 point shots in the game, a fact which probably did not go unnoticed by the scouting Clear Brook coaches (who previously might have thought of Clear Lake as a one man team).
The holidays seem to be agreeing with the Falcons. Armie Lewis was certainly not slowed by any holiday feasting he may have gotten a jump on. He provided a noticeably energetic offensive spark for his team whenever he was on the court. The same was also true of Mr. Spark Plug, Andy Leveque, and Jordan Villarreal, who had six, that’s right , six, steals ( five in the second half). Defensively the Falcons looked focused and relaxed. Outstanding hard work and hustle all over the court had to have pleased the coach. This was a good closer prior to making the trek to Missouri for some formidable competition. The officiating was not too bad in a game that was easy to officiate.
It was good to see several former Falcons in the gym including: Trevor Shakiba, Ross Mahler, Nandi Wijay, Micah Walker, Bryon Cooper (with one semester remaining in law school) along with his parents, Richard Law, and his older brother, Nathan, with his dear, sweet wife and their beautiful six week old baby boy. The Nathan Laws are down from Arkansas for the holidays. Richard Law is in from South Alabama, where he still has one more season of eligibility with his team after this season. At the rate Richard’s new nephew is growing he will be shooting hoops in no time. Also spotted in the sparsely populated gym was Jason Pillow, current JV Clear Brook coach, but since he was scouting, he doesn’t get mentioned.
Scoring by Quarter:
22-15-22-13 Us
12-12-12-16 Them
Scoring for the Falcons:
Murphy 16 (7 of 8 from the field), Oswald 15, Abner 10, Mazurek 7, Kurtz 6, Leveque 6, Thompson 6, Lewis 4, Villarreal 2 (6 steals).
2’s: 23 of 46 (50%)
3’s: 6 of 15 (40%)
free throws: 8 of 14 (57%)
Falcons Shellac South Houston Trojans 60-21
Posted by Donald Wilkerson at Dec 17, 2004 4:00PM PST
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Clear Lake 60, South Houston 21
December 18, 2004
There was little doubt about the outcome of the game between Clear Lake Falcons and the South Houston Trojans from the outset. The Falcons outclassed the Trojans in all aspects of the contest as they scored more points in the first half than the Trojans did in the game. Everyone played except Brandon Wynn who has an ankle injury and Jimmy Witten who is recovering from a broken leg. Witten is still regaining leg strength and should soon be ready. Still on crutches, Brandon will visit his doctor again next week to determine how much longer he will be out.
The Falcons’ defense looked solid. In fact, they may have come close to the school record by holding South Houston to 21 points. The Falcons showed good anticipation and lots of hustle. Outstanding guard defensive effort again from Jordan Villarreal and Andy Leveque. The team’s offense was well rounded and their transition game, mostly lacking throughout the season, showed some signs of definite life. With such a significant difference in talent between the two squads, a game like this does little to hone the skills of the superior team. It does allow them to showcase their impressive ability and to reestablish some confidence in themselves as a team worthy of considerable respect.
The Falcons next face the Pasadena Memorial Mavericks on Tuesday.
Scoring by Quarter:
12-16-17-15 US
06-04-04-07 THEM
Scoring for the Falcons:
Kendrell Thompson 13 (7 rebounds), Gordon Abner 12 (8 rebs.), Jordan Villarreal 8 (4 steals), Andy Leveque 8, David Pearce 5, Mark Murphy 4 (8 rebounds), Armie Lewis 4, Scott Oswald 2, Lee Mazurek 2, Justin Kurtz 2 (8 rebs.)
Note: both Thompson and Abner sat out the fourth quarter.
2’s: 22 of 40 (55%)
3’s: 3 of 12 (25%)
free throws: 7 of 11 (64%)